Despite an overwhelming 79 - 10 percent approval rating for the way he handled the response to
Tropical Storm Irene, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy still has a negative 41 - 48 percent overall
job approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

By a 45 - 23 percent margin, Connecticut voters like Gov. Malloy as a person, but dislike
his policies 50 - 36 percent.

Malloy's gale-force grades for handling Irene are offset by his approval ratings on
everyday matters:

Voters disapprove 55 - 36 percent of the way he is handling the state budget;

Voters disapprove 49 - 40 percent of his handling of public employee unions.

"Tropical Storm Irene put no wind in Gov. Dannel Malloy's sails," said Quinnipiac
University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD. "Connecticut voters liked the way he
responded to the storm, but this doesn't translate into a positive overall job approval rating."

"Gov. Malloy might be envious of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who
apparently did get an Irene bounce.

"Almost half of Connecticut voters turn thumbs down on Malloy, with an even bigger
negative for his handling of the state budget. Even among his Democratic base about a third
disapprove of the job he is doing."

Connecticut voters approve 61 - 32 percent of the way the state's utilities handled the
response to Irene, with consistent scores among all parties and among men and women.

Even people who lost power approve of the utilities, except for a 55 - 41 percent
disapproval among those without power six days or more.

Utilities restored power in a "reasonable" amount of time, 67 percent of voters say, while
28 percent say "it was too slow and there's no excuse."

Even those without power six days or more say 51 - 45 percent that restoration was
reasonable.

"Connecticut voters are very understanding of their utility companies," Dr. Schwartz
said. "Two-thirds think the length of time it took to restore power was reasonable given the
extent of the damage. That understanding, however, dropped with each day without power."

Tropical Storm Irene was a "serious problem," 12 percent of voters say, while 62 percent
say it was an "inconvenience" and 25 percent say it did not affect them.

From September 8 - 13, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,230 registered voters with a
margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Live interviewers call landlines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and the nation as a public service and for
research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201,
or follow us on Twitter.

17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Dannel Malloy is handling his job as Governor?